Excellent Leo! With the exception of Olympic Wrestling, you won't find a better take down art than Judo. Judo throws and their setups are head and shoulders above any other sort of throwing I've encountered in martial arts (even Aikido of JuJutsu).

Glad you are enjoying Judo Dobbersky! The break falls will get easier with practice.

Today we did a review of O Goshi and Osoto Gari. My instructor said that my O Goshi has improved quickly (probably due to my Jujutsu training a few years ago) and he remarked that it seems like my technique is very good for Osoto Gari. It's definitely my favourite throw so far.

I also did my first correct Tai Otoshi but I'm finding it difficult to get my leg out quickly enough. I guess that will improve with practice.

We also covered the pins again and my instructor had no comment about them so I guess I did them correctly.

He suggested that I start practicing the movements of the throws at home (kind of like shadow boxing) so I'll be doing 20 of each throw every day.

If you guys want to use resistance bands at home to work on your Uchi Komi and help your mat fitness, check out a book called "Championship Judo" by Mike Swain. He has a whole photographed section on resistance band excercises for Judo. Mr Swain was a former world Judo Champion too, there is a lot of good information in the book besides the resistance band stuff.